Nice find. I will start following him… On Oct 27, 2012, at 1:17 PM, [email protected] wrote:
> > > > Christian Post October 26, 2012 > My Quest For The Radical Middle > > by Duke Taber > Many times, both at my church and even on this website I have referred to the > fact that I am personally on a quest for the radical middle. This at times > has caused confusion. Not so much at my church since they know me and see > what I mean being played out in my life, but it has at times caused confusion > to those that regularly read what is written on my blog, Taber’s Truths. > > What Is The Radical Middle? > > I must confess, at different times in my life, I have fallen off target. When > I have, it has usually been in one or both of these areas. Either I have > gotten off target intellectually or emotionally. However, I have found that I > am not alone. Most of us are moved and motivated either by intellect or > emotion. Neither of those things are bad in and of themselves, but when they > are not balanced they can become bad. > > In Christianity these two areas are best observed in these words. In our > intellect and our reasoning you can see people somewhere on a scale between > legalism and liberalism. Either they are sifting every word of scripture for > rule and regulation attempting to make sure that they are pleasing God with > their actions and beliefs, or they are dismissive of the very basic tenets of > faith and swallowing every new idea and thought that might come their way. > These two positions are what I see as the polar opposites of the intellectual > part of Christianity. > > In the emotional part of Christianity, you can best describe the scale as > being between hyper-emotionalism and stoicism. You either have people jumping > off the pews and having huge displays of emotion in services or you have > those that feel any display of emotion is not godly. You have the polar > opposites of emotion ruling the day or you have no expression of emotion at > all. > > So when you look at all four of these extremes and place them at north, > south, east and west, you see that they make two lines intersecting at some > point. So to me, the radical middle is the point when you get all 4 extremes > to intersect at the middle point between them. > > The tension between legalism and liberalism > > I am neither a legalist or a liberal. Legalism is man’s attempt to use his > own power to please God. The Bible clearly states that God was and is pleased > with us because of what Jesus has done. The work of Christ on the cross is a > finished work. > > Liberalism is man’s attempt to make the gospel acceptable to the unsaved. > They water down or eliminate what is seen as foolish by those that are wise > in the world’s eyes. The Bible clearly states that the cross of Christ is > foolishness to the world. The attempt to make the gospel acceptable is > actually self defeating. By doing so you eliminate the power to change the > lives of people. > > The radical middle, and that is why I call it the radical middle is the place > that most people do not end up falling into. They either sway to the side of > legalism or liberalism because the middle is the place that is most > uncomfortable. It is the place where you have to depend on the grace of God > for all of your Christian life and you have to depend on the power of God to > change you and those around you. Jesus was neither a legalist nor a liberal. > He criticized both. To the Pharisee, He criticized them for their hypocricy. > To the Liberal or Sadducee, He criticized them for their lack of faith. > > The tension between hyper-emotionalism and stoicism. > > I believe that most Christians will at least give lip service to the fact > that God is the one who created emotions. However how people deal with > emotions is something that can sometimes be hotly debated. > > Hyper-emotionalism would say that if people’s emotions are touched then the > Spirit of God has moved. That it is evidence of God being amongst them. This > position forgets that emotions can be manipulated. In my own life as a > musician and a pastor I have discovered that I have the ability to move > people’s emotions. It is called “hype”. > > Stoicism would contend that emotions are fickle and not to be trusted and as > such they cannot be of God because they cannot be trusted. Stoicism forgets > that Jesus not only saves our eternal soul, but that same soul is where the > seat of emotions lie. Many times there can be honest expressions of emotion > that are brought on by the fact that God is doing something in a person’s > heart. How can Jesus come and live in someone’s heart and it not be a moving > experience emotionally? > > So once again the radical middle is between these two positions and once > again it is the place that most people do not arrive at. If a person is > naturally emotional then they usually sway to the camp that is open to all > sorts of emotion and if they are more reserved due to culture or upbringing > then they sway closer to the stoic side of things. The radical middle is the > place where it is understood that there is a difference between hype and > somebody sincerely moved because of what Jesus is doing. It is the place > where emotions are not given a place of leadership but neither are they given > no place at all. > > Jesus wept, He got angry, He laughed and celebrated. These were all good and > healthy things in their proper place and with their proper understanding but > it wasn’t emotion that led Him to the obedience of the cross. It was His > character. > > So what is the radical middle? > > To me, the radical middle is the place where you balance these 4 things in > the middle using Jesus as your example. I believe that is why Jesus was hated > by all those that practiced religion and why He was loved by the average Joe. > > Blessings > Pastor Duke > > > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
